Andrew Martins, Managing Editor
The emergency may not have been real and the packages handed out by municipal employees may have been filled with promotional giveaways, but township employees emphasized the real-world implications of Hillsborough’s latest emergency preparedness drill on Wednesday.
Members of the Hillsborough Township Office of Emergency Management, in collaboration with the township’s Health Department and the Business Advocate’s Office, conducted a point-of-distribution drill at Mountain View Park.
Described by officials as a way to test the township’s ability to distribute supplies in the wake of a natural or man-made disaster, Committeeman Frank DelCore said the drill was an important part of keeping the general public safe and informed.
“This is just a means to ensure that we are prepared to respond to issues and emergencies as they come up and we can share as much information with the public on how this process would work during an event,” he said. “So really the more involvement we get from our residents, the more of an understanding we have for what we need to do to react.”
From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., members of the township’s OEM, the Hillsborough Police Department and other first response units were on hand to distribute bags full of donated discounts and coupons from local businesses to everyone who arrived at the park.
In the event of an actual emergency situation, officials said residents would receive any relevant supplies, such as medicines or bottled water.
“There are times that we may be called upon to be able to distribute items to the residents, particularly in the case of a pandemic or epidemic,” he said. “We have a whole host of people, both employees and volunteers, that we could deploy as needed if we have an event that’s real.”
According to the committeeman, the last time Hillsborough needed to distribute supplies to the general public en masse was during the bird flu scare that took place several years ago.
Additionally, DelCore said the township is no stranger to flooding and other natural occurrences that may prompt a response from the municipality.
“In the event of flooding, where we’ve had issues in town, we’ve set up emergency shelters to be able to accommodate residents and then opened up the food pantry for people who need that help,” he said. “But in the event where we need to distribute items, as soon as we knew what would need to be distributed quickly, we would be going out on every available mode of communication advising residents where to go for that distribution.”
Along with testing exactly how employees would work under such a circumstance, officials said the drill allows emergency response personnel to find ways to make the distribution process more efficient.
“Participation is key, so we can make sure that if we get a large swarm of people descending upon the distribution point, that we can effectively and efficiently move them through,” DelCore said. “This test is to ensure that we have got the capability and process in place.”
